Collapsible chair



Jan. 6, 1959 c. R. ANDERSON 2,867,264

COLLAPSIBLE CHAIR Filed July 12, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

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Jan. 6', 1959 c. R. ANDERSON 2,367,264

COLLAPSIBLE CHAIR Filed July 12, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

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United States Patent COLLAPSIBLE CHAIR Clilford R. Anderson, Albert City, Iowa Application July 12, 1957, Serial No. 671,538 3 Claims. (Cl. 155-139) This invention relates to chairs, stools, and similar supports. More particularly, the invention has reference to a device of this nature that will be designed to be collapsed into a small, compact article, especially well convenience in being carried, in its folded or collapsed condition, from place to place. The chair, thus, can be used to advantage in meeting rooms, auditoriums, gymnasiums, at athletic events, and for that matter in the home, in any circumstances in which it may be desired to provide seating accommodations temporarily, while at other times storing the seats or chairs so that they will not occupy space that can be employed to better advantage.

In carrying out the objects of the invention, it is proposed that the chair constituting the invention will be easily transportable and may be carried in a pocket of ones garments or in a ladys purse. It is particularly useful at outdoor events such as parades, races, track meets, and the like, because it can be easily carried by a spectator. For the same reason it would be particularly useful, too, by fishermen.

Among important objects of the invention there are,

among others, the following:

To provide a chair that will be designed to be manufactured at a very low cost, considering the benefits to be obtained through the use thereof;

To provide a chair which, in proportion to its size and to the lightness and relatively low cost of the materials used, will be particularly strong;

To provide a chair that will be designed to be folded to a smaller size, in relation to the size thereof when unfolded, than has generally been the case with collapsible stools or chairs heretofore devised;

To so form the stool that when folded, it will be releasably locked in its folded or collapsed position, so as to be prevented from unfolding accidentally;

- adapted for storage in a relatively small area, and for To so form the locking means as to permit the swift engagement or disengagement thereof, thus to facilitate the folding or unfolding of a large number of chairs in a relatively small time, this characteristic being to particular advantage when the chairs are used in substantial quantity, as for example in meeting rooms of churches, etc.;

To provide a foldable chair of the character described that will be exceptionally stable, and will be adapted to support a substantial weight when unfolded, in relation to its overall size and the lightness of the materials used; and

To so form the foldable stool that it will be particularly adapted, when in its folded condition, to be'stacked with other, similar, folded stools or chairs in a manner such as to substantially eliminate all open spaces that ordinarily appear between stacked, folded stools or chairs.

Other objects will appear from the following description, the claims appended thereto, and from the annexed drawing, in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

2,867,264 Patented Jan. 6, 1959 Figure 1 is a perspective view of the chair, unfolded and ready for use;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view therethrough substantially on line 22 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view substantially on line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the chair partially folded;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the seat member per se;

Figure 6 is an enlarged elevational view of the chair, fully collapsed;

Figure 7 is an elevational view of the collapsed chair on the same scale as Figure 6, as seen from the left of Figure 6; and

Figure 8 is a longitudinal sectional view, on an enlarged scale, through the chair substantially on line 88 of Figure 6. v v 1 Referring to the drawings in detail, the chair constituting the present invention may'appropriately be considered as comprising, essentially, a body structure generally designated 10, a pair of legrassemblies 12 pivotally connected to one end of the structure 10, a pair of seat member support arms generally designated 14 pivotally connected to the other end of the structure 10', and a flexible seat member generally designated 16, detachably connected between opposite ends of the arms 14.

The body structure 10 is in the form of a rigidly constituted, vertically extending, rectangular frame openvat its opposite sides and including parallel, wide, flat, elongated main frame plates 17. Spaced longitudinally of and extending transversely between the plates 17 are brace rods 18, which aresecured at their opposite ends to the respective plates 17 (see Figures 1 and 3). Integrally connected between the lower extremities of the plates 17 is a bottom plate 20, while at the upper ends of the plates 17, there are formed inwardly projecting, confronting, coplanar top flanges 22. The frame thus has what might appropriately be considered as a U-shape, with the plates 17 constituting the legs of the U and the bottom plate 20 constituting the bight thereof.

At this point, it will be observed that the plates 17 are formed with a plurality of large openings 19 (Figure 2) closely spaced longitudinally and centrally of the respective plates. Said openings are for the purpose of imparting lightness to the plates without loss of the requisite strength required in the frame. These plates, and the various plate-like elements to be hereinafter described in reference to the remaining components of the invention, could if desired be devoid of the openings. Alternatively, additional openings could be formed therein. Still further, as will be noted from the drawings, several of the plates are also provided with crimps or ribs pressed out of the material of the same. These are for the purpose of providing reinforcement at a low cost, and since the formation of openings for the purpose of providing lightness, and the formation of pressed ribs for the purpose of reinforcement, are expedients well known in the working of sheet metal, no further reference to these matters of design need be made herein.

Referring now to the leg assemblies 12, these are of identical but opposite formation, with each including a wide, elongated plate 24 formed with longitudinal flanges 26 that are in embracing relation to the frame when the legs are in their folded positions shown in Figures 7 and 8.

Plates 24 have outer or distal ends formed with end flanges 28 that are disposed in planes oblique to the general planes of the plates 24, in positions such that the end flanges 28 are in a common horizontal plane, in engagement with a support surface S, when the chairis unfolded and is ready for use (see Figure 2). A

At their inner or proximal ends, the leg plates 24 are as shown in Figures 2 and 4, the

pivotally connected by means of end portions of the respective framing plates 17.

The plates 17, as shown to particular advantage in Figures 2 and 8, have at their lower ends. oppositely, outwardly facing, acute-angular recesses defining downwardlyfacing shoulders 32 disposed in a common plane above and parallel to the plane of the bottom plate 20, said recesses thus having downwardly divergent walls 33 forming abutments for the plates are in their unfolded positions, as shown in Figure 2.

Carried by the respective plates 24 are bracing links 34. Links 34 are oppositely but identically formed, with the link 34 of one leg assembly '12 being disposed at; one side thereof and the link 34 of theother leg assembly being disposed at the opposite side "thereof. The'links 34 are pivotally connected to the intermediate portions of the respective, flanged plates (Figure 4) and at their free ends'have downwardly opening notches 35 adapted to receive headed, outwardly projecting lugs 37.

Thus, when the legs are swun'g'to their use positions. v link 34 of each leg is extended horizontally and engaged at its notched end with the lug '37 of the other leg, so that the links 34 extend between the now downwardly divergent legs, providinga connection between the same that will hold the legs against pivotal movement from their use posltions shown in Figures land 2.

Referring now to the support arms 14, each of these comprises a flat,.wide plate 36, having longitudinal flanges 38, said flanges being pivotally connected at 40 to the upper end portions of the respective plates 17. The flanges 22 of the plates 17 constitute abutments or stops, limiting upward swinging movement of the arms 14 beyond the positions thereof shown in Figures 1 and 2.

Referring to Figures 4 and 6, the distal or free ends of the flanged arm plates 36 are slit longitudinally as at 41 adjacent opposite sides thereof, defining between the slits a wide intermediate tongue 42 and defining, at opposite sides of said tongue 42, narrower side tongues 44. The side tongues 44 are bent out of the plane of the plate-36 in. one direction, while the tongue 42 is bent out of the plane in theopposite direction.

By reason of this construction, there is defined, at the outer or free end of each arm, a transverse recess, which will be defined between the oppositely bent tongues 42, 44, and which has been designated at 46 (Figure 4), said recess opening in 'a direction outwardly from the end of the arm.

A seat member 16, shown per se in Figure 5, includes at opposite ends thereof end rods 48 extending transversely of the seat 'member and formed at their opposite extremities with inwardly extending projections 50. The rods are engaged in end hems of a rectangular, flexible support element 52, which can be of a strong canvas or the like. The rods can of course be secured to the element 52 in any suitable way, and in the illustrated.

example, the extensions 50 are extended along the opposite longitudinal edges of the element 52, which edges constitute the front and back edges of the element 52 when the seat is in use, as shown in Figure 1 The rods can be secured to the element 52, of course, in any suitable manner. 1 The intermediate portions of the rods 48 are exposed,

through the provision of end recesses 54 of the element 52. As a result, when the seat is in use, one rod 48 can be engaged in one end recess 46, while the other rod will be engaged in the other recess 46 (Figure 2).

When the seat is in use, it will appear as in Figure 1. Structure or frame will extend vertically, and legs 12 will be -in downwardly divergent positions, in which positions they will "be rigidly maintained by the brace links 34. Arms 36 -are 'swiIng upwardly against abutments 22 and are held in their upwardly swung positions by seat member 52, which is 'sufliciently resilient in a.

longitudinal "direction to permit its being 'tensioned pins 30 to the lower I 24 when 'the plates enough to allow the rods 48 to engage in the recesses 46, The intermediate portion of the seat member will be spaced upwardly from the abutments 22, in position to support the user.

Assuming that the chair is to be folded, one slightly stretches seat element 52 in a longitudinal direction, sufliciently to disengage oneof the rods 48 from its recess 46. This permits. the seat member 16 to be removed entirely,'withj the arms 14'now swinging downwardly to their Figure 8 positions, inwhich positions they are disposed wholly within the frame, that is, in the space between the framing plate 17,,said arms being now in closely spaced, parallel relation extending in symmetrical relation to the longitudinal median'of the frame, at opposite sides of said median.

With arms 14 wholly recessed within the frame, one now swings the legs upwardly from their Figure 4 positions, after having disengaged the brace links by lifting the same oif the headed lugs 37. Arms 14 swing to their Figure 8 positions, in which positions they are in embracmg relation tothe frame and close the opposite, open sides o'f the frame. The legs thus prevent the arms 14 from swinging out of the frame, as will be apparent from Figures 4 and 8. When the legs are in their fully collapsed positions, they are in longitudinally contacting.

relation to the opposite sides of the frame, and at this tlme, one looks the legs in their collapsed condition, through the provision of short links 56 (Figures 6 and 7) pivoted at 58 on the respectively opposite sides of the.

legs 12. Link 56 has a downwardly opening notch 69 at its free end, receiving a headed lug 62. y

The result is that the chair is collapsed into a compact,

rectangulan'small article shown in Figures land 8, which can be stored in a small space, and which is particularly tirely,

adapted to facilitate stacking or piling of the folded chairs one upon another, with minimum waste space therebetween. The folded chairs have fiat, opposite faces, defined by the outer surfaces of the respective, folded legs 12, and these flat faces are of course adapted to contact, face-to-face, the corresponding surfaces of the adjacent, folded chairs of the same stack. Sidebyside stacks, further, are adapted to be disposed in close proximity to each other, again in faceto-face contact so far as confronting, adjacent surfaces of the folded chairs are concerned.

It should be noted that the seat member 16, When moved, can be folded and placed inside the collapsed body structure 10, between main frame plates 17, resting on pins 18. Thus, when'arms 14 are swung downwardly to closed or collapsed positions, .the seat member remains inside and does not interfere with folding of the chair. The seat member is thus easily stored and cannot fall out.

Possibly, it maybe desired to eliminate p'late 20, which prevents the folded member 16 from falling out when stored in the manner described above, since .the use of a heavy material for member .16 would impart "bulk thereto sufficient to hold it in place.

Still further, it should be noted that the chair may be about eighteen inches high, the height of a normal chair seat, whereas most camp stools are not this high. This is another desirable feature o'f'theinvention.

Another important characteristic of the invention 'resides in its being adapted for manufacture, almost enfrom pressed steel or similar strong, comparatively inexpensive material. Aluminum maybe employed, in many instances, and of "c'ourse'it is not desired that the invention be restricted to the use of a particular material. In 'each'instance, maximum "strength and lightness can be obtained, by formation of openings in'the several plates, by suitable 'fianging of'the plates, and by pressing transverse and longitudinalcri'mpsor ribs therein, such as have'been shown in the various figuresof the drawing.

It is believed-clear-tha't the invention is not necessarily confined to the specific use or uses thereo'f described above, since it may be utilizeddor'any'purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the invention to be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated and described, since such construction is only intended to be illustrative of the principles of operation and the means presently devised to carry out said principles, it being considered that the invention comprehends any minor change in construction that may be permitted within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A frame for a collapsible chair comprising a body structure elongated in a vertical direction and formed open along opposite sides thereof; a pair of leg assemblies pivotally connected to the lower end of said structure for swinging movement in a common plane between inoperative collapsed positions in which said assemblies extend in parallelism along said sides, and operative extended positions in which said assemblies diverge downwardly from said lower end, said leg assemblies in their collapsed positions extending as closures of said sides; and a pair of support arms constituting the seat portion of the chair frame and pivotally connected to the upper end of said structure for swinging movement in the plane of the leg assemblies through the respective open sides between inoperative collapsed positions and operative extended positions, the support arms in their extended positions projecting laterally outwardly in opposite directions from the upper end of the body structure, the support arms in their collapsed position extending in parallelism and being disposed wholly within the body structure, the leg assemblies in their collapsed positions extending as abutments disposed in the path in which the support arms swing from their collapsed to their extended positions.

2. A frame for a collapsible chair comprising a foursided body structure elongated in a vertical direction and wholly open along two, opposite sides thereof; a pair of leg assemblies pivotally connected to the lower end of said structure for swinging movement in a common plane between inoperative collapsed positions in which said assemblies extend in parallelism along opposite sides, and operative extended positions in which said assemblies diverge downwardly from said lower end, said leg assemblies in theircollapsed positions extending as closures of said open sides and being of a width at least as great as the width of said open sides; and a pair of support arms extending in width over substantially the full distance between the remaining two sides of the body structure, said support arms constituting the seat portion of the chair frame and being pivotally connected to the upper end of said structure for swinging movement in the plane of the leg assemblies through. the respective open sides between inoperative, collapsed positions and operative, extended positions, the support arms in their extended positions projecting laterally outwardly in opposite directions from the upper end of the body structure, h pp rt arm n their collapsed positions exbetween inoperative collapsed positions in which said. assemblies extend in parallelism along opposite sides,

and operative extended positions in which said assemblies diverge downwardly from said lower end, said leg assemblies in their collapsed positions extending as closures of said open sides and being of a width at least as great as the width of said open sides, each leg assembly comprising a flat plate overlying the open side adjacent thereto and longitudinal flanges on said plate disposed exteriorly of the body structure in embracing relation thereto, said flanges being disposed in longitudinally contacting relation to the respective remaining two sides of the body structure in the collapsed positions of the leg assemblies; and a pair of support arms extending in width over the full distance between said remaining two sides of the body structure, each support arm comprising a flat, wide plate and longitudinal flanges on the same, said support arms constituting the seat portion of the chair frame and being pivotally connected to the upper end of said structure for swinging movement in the plane of swinging movement of the leg assemblies through the respective open sides between inoperative, collapsed positions and operative, extended positions, the support-arms in their extended positions projecting laterally outwardly in opposite direction from the upper end of the body structure, the support arms in their collapsed positions extending in parallelism with each other and being disposed wholly within the body structure, said support arms in their collapsed positions being disposed with their longitudinal flanges in contact with the inner surfaces of said remaining two sides of the body structure, the leg assemblies in their collapsed positions extending as abutments disposed in the path in which the support arms swing from their collapsed to their extended positions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 959,393 Ryave May 24, 1910 1,009,584 Ryave et al Nov. 21, 1911 2,560,447 Jansen July 10, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 373,359 Italy July 25, 1939 399,811 France July 19, 1909 

